I think it's most inconvenient aspect is its side doors. They're
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| R-Class' interior shares many of its components with the ML and GL-Class. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
amazingly wide, which is good for ingress and egress, no doubt, but just try getting in and out of them, or the front ones for that matter, in an average shopping mall parking stall. The problem is the R's width, at 2,168 mm (85.4 inches), compared to the Odyssey's 1,960 mm (77.2 inches), which is a difference of a substantial 208 mm (8.2 inches). Can you see why it was near impossible to use the side doors when parked in a regular stall? Who dreams up cars like this anyways? Obviously not those who live anywhere in North America, despite this one being produced in Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa, Alabama assembly plant. If the Odyssey was a particularly narrow minivan the R's worst challenge wouldn't be so bad, but in fact the Odyssey is amongst the wider of its segment, the Toyota Sienna a
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| While the R's wide stance adds to interior roominess, it makes accessing the kids through the extra-long doors near impossible when slotted into an average-width parking stall. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
mere 2 mm (0.08 inches) wider and the DaimlerChrysler vans measuring slightly more at 1,997 mm (78.6 inches), still much narrower than the R. Add to this that the minivans feature convenient sliding side doors, which are often powered no less (talk about luxury), and the R's inconvenience is glaringly apparent. It was so bad, actually, that on a number of occasions I had to park closer to the vehicle on my right than I normally would, just so that I could open a side door and let the kids out. Kaden, my five-year old, took to getting in and out via the rear liftgate - do you think I'll be able to get him out of that habit easily? After realizing that by parking over the parking stalls rightmost white line, I was forcing the neighbouring driver to enter his/her vehicle from the passenger side and straddle the centre console, if he/she wanted to leave before I arrived back, I chose to park closer on the left side and do the straddling myself. Believe me, after a day of trying to find parking spots at the other end of the lot (it really needs two to allow reasonable access to its four side doors) the R remained parked in my garage more often than not. In short, living with the R-Class, which (for S-Class owners thinking of moving up from a sedan to a crossover) is 297 mm (11.7 inches) wider than a 2007 S550 and, get this, even spans 105 mm (4.1 inches) more from outside fender to outside fender than the 2,063 mm (81.2 in) wide Hummer H2 and is only 28 mm (1.1 inches) narrower than the overwhelmingly wide Hummer H1 Alpha (yeah, the HUMVEE), is ridiculously inconvenient.
But
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| My goodness, the R-Class is long and wide. That makes it a handful to park. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
it's not all bad, right? If you aren't the type to go to shopping malls, grocery stores or any other facility that uses traditional parking stalls you'll be fine. Sure it's a bit long, but its 5,157 mm (203.0 inch) length won't be much more difficult to parallel-park than similar vehicles in this segment. Again, it dwarfs Hummer's H2, with some 337 mm (13.3 inches) additional length from front to rear bumper. OK, that's not fair. The H2 only seats five and the R can hold seven. Compared to the minivan most likely purchased by premium buyers, once again the Honda Odyssey, the R is only 81 mm (3.2 inches) longer, making it manageable, at least. It's shorter than the new 5,210 mm (205.1 inch) long S550, mind you, by some 53 mm (2.1 inches), and GMC's gargantuan Yukon XL by an amazing 413 mm (16.3 inches), so for those looking to step down from a full-size SUV, the R might work well - and yes, the R is a freakish 164 mm (6.5 inches) wider than the Yukon XL, so you might want to think about what kinds of parking spaces you normally use before purchasing.
